Ecosystem Roles

Many of these sharks have copepod parasites, Ommatokoita elongata, attached to the corneas of their eyes. A single, female copepod will attach itself to one of the corneas, resulting in corneal damage and blindness in one eye. This does not seem to negatively effect the shark, as they do not rely on their vision. It has been suggested that the bioluminescence of these parasites helps lure prey, thus resulting in a mutualistic relationship, but there is no evidence to support this. (Compagno and Fowler, 2005; Compagno, 1984)